Kirsan Ilyumzhinov beats Garry Kasparov in battle for FIDE presidency

110 people voted for 52-year-old Ilyumzhinov, who has held the post since 1995, while Kasparov received 61 votes. Source: Reuters

Ilyumzhinov was supported by the Russian Chess Federation, whereas Kasparov was running as a candidate from Croatia.

Russia’s Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has been re-elected as president
of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for a new four-year term, the
website of the Russian Chess Federation (RCF). The elections were held on
Monday during the General Assembly of FIDE at the 2014 Chess Olympiad in the
Norwegian city of Tromsø.

The sole challenger to Ilyumzhinov in the FIDE presidential
election was the 13th world chess champion Garry Kasparov. 110 people voted for
52-year-old Ilyumzhinov, who has held the post since 1995, while Kasparov
received 61 votes. Ilyumzhinov was nominated for the presidency and supported
by the Russian Chess Federation, whereas Kasparov, who makes no secret of his
opposition to the current Russian government, was running as a candidate from
Croatia.

For several months prior to the election, the two parties
exchanged accusations of violations of the rules of the game. Kasparov accused
Ilyumzhinov of using FIDE for his pre-election trips and canvassing for votes,
as well as of “co-operation with Russian oligarchs" close to Vladimir
Putin. In response, allegations were hurled that Kasparov had promised large
funds if he won to some individuals and companies in violation of the laws of
several countries.

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Andrey Filatov, head of the Russian Chess Federation, called
the fact that “the well-known opposition figure Garry Kasparov” received far
fewer votes than Ilyumzhinov “an important symbolic sign that points to the
fact that our country has authority and support all over the world” and proof
that “the country is not in isolation.”

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov himself, when commenting on the election
results in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper, pointed out that he
preferred not to focus on political issues during his pre-election activities.
“The big difference between me and my opponent is that he considers chess as a
tool for politics while I consider the former to be outside of the latter,”
Ilyumzhinov said.

“We have enough tasks to work on in the nearest future, both
specific tasks – such as organizing the world champion title match, which will
be hosted by Sochi in November – and more global tasks,” he added. “The Chess in Schools programme remains a
high-priority one for FIDE. I dream about this programme expanding worldwide.”